Ax finally falls: One of Delaware's oldest and largest breweries announces final day

Matthew Korfhage, USA TODAY NETWORK
Updated ·3 min read

Fordham and Dominion Brewing will shut down in Delaware after 20 years in the state, the brewery announced this weekend.

The brewery's final day in Dover will be Saturday, Oct. 28 ― closing the chapter on one of the oldest and largest craft breweries in Delaware.

"We want to thank everyone who has been part of the success Fordham & Dominion has achieved throughout the years — the brewing and taproom team, the entire Dover community, and everyone who has believed in and enjoyed the beer we’ve brewed," read a message on the company's website and Instagram.

This will be the second major brewery closure during October in Delaware. Blue Earl, just up the road in Smyrna, shut its doors on Wednesday, Oct. 4, citing the after-effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and a more competitive alcohol market.

Closing time: 'Blindsided': One of Delaware's largest and oldest breweries will close, staff say

A few of Fordham's beers, as well as Dominion Root Beer, will continue to be brewed at breweries in other states, and served at Rams Head tavern locations in Maryland and Florida.

Fordham Brewing began at a Maryland Rams Head brewpub location in 1995, before moving to Dover in 2003 and folding up Virginia's moribund Old Dominion Brewing into its portfolio.

"Legacy brands Copperhead Ale, Rams Head IPA, and Dominion Root Beer, as well as two new core brands, will be produced in partnership with Heavy Seas Beer in Baltimore, Maryland, and served exclusively at Rams Head," read the message from the brewery. "Cat 5 Key Lime Lager will be brewed in Florida and available at Rams Head Southernmost in Key West, Florida, as well as throughout the state."

Fordham and Dominion Brewing in Dover, Delaware on August 6, 2023.
Fordham and Dominion Brewing in Dover, Delaware on August 6, 2023.

Employees left in limbo as brewery ownership kept details private

Fordham's closing announcement did not specify the reasons for folding the Delaware brewery. Bill Muehlhauser, the Florida-based Fordham and Rams Head co-founder still listed as managing partner on recent documents, also has not responded to repeated requests for comment since August.

Delaware brewery closures: Smyrna's Blue Earl Brewing Company closes its doors

Brewery employees had been living in uneasy limbo since July, they told USA Today Network in August, ever since management called employees one by one and told them that they would be losing their jobs, whether now or later.

"Some of us either walked in and then found out that we were getting cut," taproom manager Chris Kellar told the USA Today Network in August. "Or we got phone calls and found out, 'Don't come back to work; the business is closing.'"

Fordham and Dominion Brewing in Dover, Delaware on August 6, 2023.
Fordham and Dominion Brewing in Dover, Delaware on August 6, 2023.

Taproom employees we spoke to were not given a firm date of closure, and many believed the brewery already had brewed its final beer. One employee said she had to wheel kegs of beer around on an office chair after some brewery equipment already disappeared.

After USA Today Network's Aug. 4 story about the impending closure, the brewery called the reporting inaccurate on social media messages, without explanation. "Yes, we are open!" the brewery announced. The brewery held a release party for an Oktoberfest beer in September.

"Our bar manager put up this sign, "Enter as Strangers, Leave as Friends," said Fordham and Dominion Brewing bartender Novalee Roy on Dove August 6, 2023. "And it's true. That's what happens." The brewery will close in 2023, staff learned in July.
"Our bar manager put up this sign, "Enter as Strangers, Leave as Friends," said Fordham and Dominion Brewing bartender Novalee Roy on Dove August 6, 2023. "And it's true. That's what happens." The brewery will close in 2023, staff learned in July.

But by the end of that month, the brewery's space was listed for lease as a 19,100-square-foot warehouse.

The former brewery will be available to a new tenant in January once its contents have been cleaned out and liquidated, said listing agent Chuck Spiegelman.

Brewing diversity: In Delaware's very white craft beer world, the all-Black Melanated Mash Makers stand out

As of August, taproom manager Kellar still held out hope a buyer would step forward to claim the space and keep beers flowing at Dover's only brewery.

"It's just been heartbreaking news for all of us," Kellar said at the time.

Matthew Korfhage is a USA Today Network reporter in the broader Philadelphia region, covering culture, food, equity, science and why the trains don't run on time. Email him at mkorfhage@gannett.com or follow him on the site formerly known as Twitter @matthewkorfhage.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY NETWORK: Fordham & Dominion will be second Delaware brewery to close in October